Both fencing teams visit Boston

Men try to gain needed maturity As a general rule, teams can not win without maturity and experience. That would explain the Penn men's fencing team's recent slump -- the Quakers (5-3, 0-2 Ivy League) feature more inexperienced competitors than they do crafty veterans and have dropped two straight competitions. In the early weeks of the season, this lack of experience did not inhibit the Quakers, who roared to a 5-1 start. However, in recent matches against tough Ivy League opponents Yale and Princeton, the team has had trouble maintaining focus throughout all 27 bouts, and has dropped its last two meets. Now, Penn heads into a busy weekend. The Quakers will fence Saturday and Sunday in hopes of quickly gaining the needed maturity to turn around their slump before it extends into a prolonged losing streak. The Quakers will travel to Harvard for a Saturday meet. The Crimson is Penn's third consecutive Ivy League opponent. Harvard has never been a dominant force in the Ancient Eight, and Penn has historically been the better fencers, but with the recent Quaker problems, the Crimson is entirely capable of defeating the once-ballyhooed Penn squad. "We have had some trouble of late," Penn senior captain Evan Glanz said. "But we hung tough against Princeton. We all fenced well, and despite the loss, our spirits are high." Penn can hardly afford to lose morale, because its rigorous schedule calls for constant competition between now and the end of the regular season. This weekend is a perfect example. Once the Quakers complete their meet at Harvard, they will rise early Sunday and travel to MIT to take on the host Engineers, Brandeis and Brown. Despite the overwhelming number of teams Penn must face, the Quakers remain confident. "We should do pretty well at MIT," freshman epee Ed Cleaver said. "We just need to pull it all together as a team." None of Penn's opponents this weekend can be considered a cupcake. The Quakers face two tough Ivy League teams, and the Engineers and the Judges always provide stiff competition. "It's a busy weekend for us," Glanz said. "We'll be facing some good teams, and we can not afford to let the losing get to us." Either way, the Quakers had best get their cliched "game faces" on -- although no one can see them underneath their protective head gear -- for should they perform poorly, they will wake up Monday morning to find themselves in the midst of a considerable losing streak. So look for coach Dave Micahnik to instill discipline and maturity into his fencers, who must gain a season's worth of maturity in one night of sleep before they compete against Harvard, MIT, Brown and Brandeis this weekend.